Observations on Tas

Walking & driving: the driving around town is pretty aggressive - diving into the roundabouts rather briskly - enough that if another guy were to make a mistake it's be tough to adjust. I'm still getting used to looking to the right - and having to look 3 entries away into the circle, because I'd still have to "give way" to a guy coming fast and aggressive from 3/4 of the way around the roundabout. Especially challenging to keep that in mind on bicycle when I've got to look to my left for a guy that will eventually catch me from the right!

And, as a walker - there is no thought of pedestrians have the right of way. Pedestrians definitely yield to the cars. Once every couple of days I'll see a car slow, or even stop to let a pedestrian across and it really messes things up because the other cars don't expect it to happen so there's sometimes a squeal of tires from behind the slowing car of the nice guy. Just stay on the sidewalk, mate!

Real estate:

The house across the street went up for sale last week. It's the most expensive listing in Harcourts' large Launceston catalogue - but with no price listed. In 2008 it was the "House of the Year" for Lonnie. From the road it's a very unassuming nicely kept up old house (1840 to be exact (with a flagpole that gets a different flag each day). Turns out that what I see is just "the cottage" - and connects via a glass passageway to "the house" which is a modern, glass-walled multilevel with great views. Totals about 3000 sq feet. The listing is for "expressions of interest" which will close at 5 PM on May 2nd. I gather that's sort of like a silent auction - our eBay in miniature. Love to see what it goes for. The pictures of the interior and the views are pretty spectacular. If your interested, got to: Harcourts.com.au and look for TLA 3001 or just rank the Launceston listing from most expensive and it's the first one.

I ate in a restaurant this afternoon, and realized that it was my first real "meal" in 6 days: up to now it's been a combination of cereal (wheat bix mostly), apples (I did buy a couple of expensive Florida grapefruits and a couple bananas - that are currently about $2.25 per banana! because 80% of the banana crop was wiped out by the Queensland floods), milk and cookies, peanut butter and jelly, and (real treat) exceedingly delicious submarine sandwiches that I buy on the way into the ER from the coffee shop/bistro right next to the hospital - very similar to Amante in Boulder, but more expensive.

Working 5 days straight, I only got in a couple of 15 - 30 minute short hard workouts, so today felt good to get out for 3 hours through the countryside/farms/eucalyptus forests and up into the hills - cold, overcast, a little rain but absolutely beautiful, relaxing, enjoyable ride with a few hard efforts during the last half. Had planned a little longer, but the road that I was on turned to dirt/mud so I turned back.

More flooding in the Northeast of Tas - hampered some of the medical transfers yesterday.